


Persuading the Princess

by SweetDumpling



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Feeding Kink, Fluff, Gen, Imprisonment, Mind Manipulation, Plot, Power Dynamics, Praise Kink, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, Teasing, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-06 20:22:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20512943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetDumpling/pseuds/SweetDumpling
Summary: Started out as a quick drabble, but then I got weirdly invested in it. Plan on finishing this relatively soon.





	1. Prologue

Adora struggled fruitlessly against the ropes around her wrists as she was lead through the Whispering Woods by an entourage of soldiers. From behind, Catra planted her chin on her shoulder and grinned wickedly.

“What’s the matter? Not so strong without your little prop?”  
Adora clicked her tongue. “What, like you’ve never been captured?”  
Catra growled under her breath and shoved Adora forward. “Yes, well, unlike your lot, the Horde aren’t in the habit of letting our captives go.”

Adora rolled her eyes. She was doing her best to keep her cool, but she could not help tugging at her bonds a bit harder as she imagined what might be in store for her if she made it back to the enemy headquarters. The worst case scenario was that they would have shadow weaver wipe her memory and have her fighting for them as if she had never left. Even worse, they might turn She-ra’s powers against the Alliance.

Adora decided there was no use in waiting. If she was going to escape, now was the time. She kicked over the two nearest guards. After a few hours of walking, most of the others had grown complacent. She took out one more. Then another, and another, all with only her legs. In total, seven were down before they managed to restrain her again. She heard Catra’s voice once again, so close that she could feel her breath against her ear.

“I don’t know what you expected to happen there, but I’ll give you an A for effort.”  
With that, Adora felt a blinding surge of electricity run from the small of her back through to the rest of her body. She went limp and began to collapse, but Catra scooped her up mid-fall and started carrying her.  
“Now, behave yourself and I’ll make sure you get a _really_ nice cell, okay?” Catra cooed with her usual mocking affection.

Adora reluctantly complied. Without her sword, there was no chance she could take out the whole squadron of soldiers escorting her.

“Good girl,” Catra teased, combing her clawed fingers through her former ally’s hair.  
Pretty soon the forest’s clear blue skies and vibrant plant life made way for the looming crimson clouds and craggy landscape of the Fright Zone. Adora looked back ruefully as Bright Moon shrank into the horizon. 

She was carried up through the hallways of the base that she used to call home, straight past her old sleeping quarters and into the prisoners' sector. A massive mechanical door rose up into the ceiling, to reveal where Adora was to be held. 

She was thrown to the soft, cushioned floor. Looking around, Adora could at least conclude that Catra was not lying about it being one of the nicer cells. It matched the size of her room in the castle and it was equally luxurious. In fact, it was almost a 1:1 recreation, though it lacked any windows and traded out the pastel pinks of Queen Angela's sensibilities for the dull, dreary green that characterised Horde architecture. Still, it had all the essentials; an en suite bathroom, a fridge, a king sized bed, a wardrobe and a love seat far too big for just one person. One thing that the room actually had over its alliance counterpart was a massive television screen which took up the entirety of the back wall. Adora was struck by both relief that she would not be deprived of basic amenities and the dawning realisation that she would not be leaving this room for who-knows-how-long. 

With Adora in captivity, most of the soldiers dispersed to deal with the less exciting tasks that needed attending to around Horde HQ. Catra, however, chose to hang around the doorway a little longer.

“Now just keep yourself entertained while figure out figure out what to do with you, okay?” Catra sang, giving a small wave and tossing a remote into the room.  
Adora scrambled to her feet and charged at her, letting out a battle cry all the way there. The door slammed shut before she could reach her target though, leaving her to slam her fists against nothing but metal.

Meanwhile, Catra made her way to the war room. Entrapta was typing away at the computer as usual while Scorpia watched over her.

“So, any luck recreating the disk?” Catra asked, perching herself on a seat behind the other two.

“Not exactly. I actually got a little sidetracked…” Entrapta admitted sheepishly.

“Why am I not surprised?” Catra sighed.

“I did come across something useful though!” 

“Uh-huh...”

“See, I was looking into how the disk’s virus affected her the way it did. From what I’ve gathered, it somehow bombards her sympathetic nervous system with perceived threats, causing an acute threat response whilst also-”

“Yes, yes, as fascinating as that all is, can we get to the useful part already?”

“Ah, right. Uh, essentially, the virus works by hampering her conscious mind and then messing with her subconscious. I found a way to do something similar, though slightly less extreme, using TV screens.”

“So you’re saying we can control She-ra?” Catra asked eagerly.

“Yes. Well, no, not exactly. We can’t shut down her conscious mind like the disk does, but we can bypass it. We just type a message right here and it’ll flash on Adora’s TV screen for less than a second. She won’t know it, but it should be able to subtly influence her. Nothing as blatant as ‘rejoin the horde’, but we could probably alter her habits, her mood, stuff like that...”

“Alright, I think I get it…” Catra replied, a massive smile crossing her face as she pushed past her two underlings and quickly started typing. “If She-ra’s a tool we can’t use, we might as well break her…”


	2. Day 1

“FEAR THE HORDE.”

No windows, no vents, and no secret switches. It took Adora a while to accept that she had few options besides waiting around to be rescued. She had every confidence that her friends would reach her eventually. In the meantime, she would train to make sure she could help everyone get out safely this time.

After going through the morning routine of showering, brushing her teeth and having a bowl of cereal, she acted out fighting an imaginary opponent, dodging, blocking, kicking and such. Things were made only slightly more difficult by having her hands bound. In fact, it was probably less distracting than the constant rambling that came from the TV. 

It turned itself on at some point the day before and no matter what she did, it refused to be turned off or even turned down. She could change the channel, but that did little good. Everything from sitcoms to news shows were little more than thinly veiled Horde propaganda. Fortunately, a little time living with the enemy had rendered Adora pretty much immune.

Even outside of her superpowered She-ra form, Adora’s athleticism was impressive. She barely broke a sweat as she went through her drills. She managed to ignore the screen for the most part, only sparing it the occasional glance. Adora was so engrossed in the exercise that she never noticed the door opening.

“Having fun there?” Catra asked as she let herself in. She was carrying a dinner tray with burrito and one scoop of ice cream.

“Oh, Hey Catra,” Adora sighed. She found herself taking a step back as her old friend approached her.

Catra’s ear twitched and her eyes widened slightly.  
“Is something up? It sounds like your hearts beating a little faster than usual,” she asked with faux-concern.

“Really? Well, you know me, all about fitness,” Adora chuckled.

“Right.”

Adora let out a tiny scream as Catra sliced off the rope around her wrists. Catra raised an eyebrow.  
“Scaredy cat.”  
“S-Shut up,” Adora shot back.  
“Hm?”  
Catra took another step forward. Adora took another step back.  
“Nothing,” Adora quickly responded as she stood to attention.  
“That’s more like it,” 

She handed Adora the tray and strutted out the door.

Adora let out a sigh she had not known she was holding as she sat herself on the couch. Actually looking at it, the burrito was almost comically large, with the bread wrap full to bursting with mince. The scoop of ice cream was similarly oversized, being almost the size of a soccer ball. 

She ended up having a bit less than half of the meal, tipping the rest into the bin. It felt wrong to toss food away when she used to live off a ration diet, but her stomach could only take so much.Feeling pleasantly full, Adora headed over to the bed on the other side of the room and tucked in for an early night. At least she assumed it was an early night, without any sign of the sun, attempting to keep track of time with any kind of accuracy would be a fool’s errand.


	3. Day 2

“WATCH THE SCREEN.”

Adora woke up late the next morning, not feeling particularly rested. The bed itself was fine, in fact it was probably one of the most comfortable beds she had ever laid in. She had gotten used to sleeping alone too. The problem was her dreams. Living through visions of her losing to the horde forces in every way possible (and a few that were not) was almost as tiring as if she had never gotten to sleep in the first place. 

She went through the same motions as the previous morning, but found her eyes being drawn to the television as the dramatic love triangle between three Horde cadetes played out. The lead characters arc was compelling, even when it was interrupted constantly for another character to praise how great Hodark is. 

Eventually Catra arrived again with Adora’s dinner. This time it was an extra large burger, fries and a box of donuts.

“Howdy. You still wearing that stuff? We provided clothes you know?” she asked casually. She nodded to the red jacket that Adora had rarely taken off since her arrival.

Adora grinned as she took her food tray.  
“You never know when a rescue party’s going to arrive. I don’t plan on making my escape in Pajamas,” Adora teased.

Catra hissed. Adora recoiled.  
“Understand this. You. Are. Not. Getting. Out.” she scowled, poking a finger into Adora’s chest with each word. “Now settle down and be glad we're treating you nice!”  
Adora obediently sat herself on the sofa. 

"Good girl." Catra patted her on the head and walked back outside. 

Adora was fairly certain that the horde did not have any cameras in her room, having gone through every nook and cranny in search of a way out the day before. Even so, she felt strangely okay with accepting Catra's advice. She had already spent all day training. What was wrong with allowing herself a bit of indulgence? 

As she watched what was quickly becoming her favourite show, Adora barely noticed that she almost finished the mass of food that had been given to her.


	4. Day 7

"YOU ARE WEAK."  
“THE HORDE ARE STRONG”  
“YOU ARE LAZY.”  
"SURRENDER."  
“CONSUME.”

As Adora awoke, she already felt ready to go back to sleep. She took stock of her surroundings and realised she was not in her bed. She had fallen asleep watching TV again.

It was late afternoon, judging by the bowl of cereal, sandwich, bowl of crisps and variety of sweets that had been left on her coffee table. Catra had become increasingly insistent on providing her with plenty of food. Adora found her hospitality slightly suspicious, but she was grateful for it too. Her appetite seemed to grow by the day. Preparing her own meals would seriously cut into training time.

She sat herself up and was faintly aware of her formerly lean middle squishing together into a subtle spare tire around her waist. Adora was still far from even being chubby, but it would still be quite alarming for her body to lose so much of its firmness over such a short period of time.

One thing that helped her ignore this was the grey hoodie and sweatpants that she had taken to wearing. She still was not a fan of the Horde insignia that adorned the outfit, along with most outfits in her wardrobe, but there was no denying it was comfortable.

A furry hand held a can out in front of Adora’s face.

“Ah!”

She had somehow failed to notice up until now that Catra was perched on the sofa’s armrest.

“Hey there sleeping beauty. You look tired as hell. I figured you could use a pick me up.”

She was not wrong. These ‘energy drinks’ the horde had produced had quickly become a mainstay of Adora’s diet. She was sure she could quit whenever she wanted of course, but they really did help her get through the day. She chugged it down in a matter of seconds, following it up with a satisfied sigh.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Catra asked as she playfully undid the bun in Adora’s hair, allowing it to cascade down to her shoulders.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll sit around in my cell watching TV again,” Adora replied with a resigned smile. She knew that Catra would not approve of her still going through combat drills on the off chance that her friends would come to save her yet. She intended this to be a lie to placate her captor, but it was not out of the question. The time she spent training seemed to get shorter as her stay in the Fright Zone dragged on. By now she was down to less than an hour a day.

“Ooh, sounds fun. Mind if I join you?” 

“No. I mean yes, I mean-”

“Great!” Catra chimed as she bounced off of the armrest and onto the sofa propper. She draped an arm over Adora’s shoulder. There went what little exercise she might have been able to get done. What worried Adora more than that though, was that she felt slightly relieved at that fact.Spending more time hanging with Catra seemed like a nice prospect.


	5. Day 24

"CATRA KNOWS BEST."  
"OBEY CATRA."  
“PLEASE CATRA.”  
"LOVE CATRA."

Adora was resting her head on the force captain’s shoulder, as she had taken to doing a lot recently. 

As she looked at that moment, most would find it difficult to believe she had ever been a soldier or a warrior princess. The Horde-issued hoodie she was wearing clung tightly to every curve of her growing body, as would every piece of clothing in her wardrobe. It drew particular attention to her burgeoning belly that now poked out as if she had swallowed a medicine ball. The changes in the rest of her body were significantly less prominent, but from head to toe, she was undeniably softer. 

Something that had probably helped her adjust to this more sedentary lifestyle was living out her more adventurous days vicariously through the entertainment provided. Before her arrival on that fateful day, Adora had no idea that the Fright Zone had a professional wrestling scene. Now she was something of a superfan. 

“You know, I really am proud of you,” Catra commented casually while she fiddled with Adora’s hair. 

Adora found it odd that whenever they spent time together like this, Catra would never actually actually watch TV with her. She would listen to whatever plot was unravelling, but her eyes were always either on Adora herself or just drifting around the room. Odd or not, she did enjoy being the focus of her attention. It was just like old times, minus the stress of them both being soldiers. 

“Really?” She wished she could hide her excitement better than she did as she looked away from her show and up into Catra’s eyes.

Her lips curled into a smirk. Catra clasped Adora’s cheeks in her palm and ran her thumb down the curve of her double chin.  
“Of course. You’re taking this whole prisoner deal surprisingly well. I expected you to try to take me down at least once.”

“I-” The thought had not actually never occured to Adora until that moment. She had to take a moment to rationalise that fact. “I mean, I could beat you and… then what? Even if I wasn’t locked in her, I doubt I could handle all the guards between here and the exit.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, did you just say you could beat me?”

“I’ve beat you before," she replied defensively. 

Catra laughed. “That was a while ago. Here, let’s see how things would go now,” she cheered. She jumped up and took Adora’s hands, pulling the woman to her feet. The clicking of her joints did not bode well. Nor did her body swaying slightly as she took a few seconds to find her balance. She realised with slight alarm that she had not stood up for several days.

Far from having a poker face, it was clear that Adora was not too keen to test a fight between them as she imagined it against reality.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” Catra reassured her sparring partner smugly. “How about this: no punches, no kicks and no claws. Whoever pins the other person down for three.seconds wins.”

There was something comfortingly familiar about those rules.

“Sounds good,” Adora replied. She did a few stretches to prepare herself and tried to ignore as her hoodie rode up to expose her wobbling tummy. 

Catra watched the routine with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face. She apparently saw no need to bother with stretches.

“You are just adorable, you know that?” Catra sighed dreamily.  
A blush spread over Adora’s face. “You’re just trying to distract me!” she blurted out in response.  
“Maybe.”  
Adora huffed. “Ready when you are.”

Catra beckoned for Adora to approach with one hand, but otherwise remained completely still.  
Adora threw her head forward and charged, trying to grasp her opponent’s waist in her arms. Catra casually stepped out of the way. The ‘match’ played out more like a bullfight than the dramatic battles Adora was used to seeing. After chasing Catra around the room for minutes on end, Adora was left panting wildly with her forehead dotted with sweat.

On a dime, Catra went from backing away from Adora to casually approaching her. Adora smiled. She took the opportunity and lunged at Catra. Before she could make contact, Catra grabbed both of her wrists and held them above their heads.

Adora made a token effort to break her grip, but there was barely enough force behind it to warrant Catra’s notice as she pressed her body against the larger woman.

“Wanna call it quits? You look like you could use some rest.”

Adora twisted under Catra’s hold, more as a form of protest than a legitimate bid to break free. Catra slowly leaned forward and Adora slowly fell back. She let out weak moans of both frustration and effort. 

Catra continued to push until Adora could no longer keep balance. They both tumbled to the floor, Catra straddling Adora and pinning her wrists to the padded floor beneath them. 

“Damn Adora, I never noticed how cute you are when you’re all out of puff like this. Then again, it never used to be so easy to wear you out,” Catra laughed.

Adora was already far too red for any blushing to be noticeable, but the way her eyes darted away from Catra’s suggested she was pretty flustered.  
"I really do like this little arrangement we've come to. I get all the power that I've _always_ deserved, and you get to sit around doing nothing whilst being pampered and dotted on in the way that, deep down, you've always wanted…"

Catra accompanied her commentary with a stomach massage, gently kneading Adora’s middle. As much as she would love to deny those claims, Adora could not hide that she was somewhat enjoying her captivity, along with Catra’s strange way of showing affection. She barely even noticed that her hands were free.

The plan was still to get out as soon as she could, but if the resistance took a few more weeks before whisking her back home, maybe that would not be such a bad thing. It would at least give her a bit of time to get back to her former fitness.

"Plus, it's great that we both have so much free time. With She-ra out of the picture and all.”  
That was enough to snap Adora back to reality.  
“Huh! What about Bow and Glimmer?”  
“Oh, them?” Catra began with a laugh. She seemed to reconsider her next few words as her friend's eyes grew slightly wider and started to well up. Catra’s tone softened. "They fought well."  
This statement only seemed to rattle Adora more.  
"They're not dead! They got away right before we took the castle," Catra added with a mix of exasperation and patience.  
That seemed to calm Adora slightly. She hesitated before speaking again.  
“You took Bright Moon castle?”  
Catra let her head drop as she let out a hefty sigh.  
“Of course we did! Gee, I know that you aren’t exactly a wellspring of self-confidence, but you must have known that you were their powerhouse, right? A few arrows and some fairy dust aren’t going to hold off an army on their own.”  
“What about the other princesses?”  
“Oh, they’re still around and still a thorn in our side, but since we got our hands on you, they’ve all been focused on protecting their own kingdoms,” Catra explained. She chuckled. “You can all hold hands and talk big about friendship but, at the end of the day, everybody is looking out for number one.”  
Adora’s shoulders sank as she let her head drop onto the soft floor.  
"So that’s my fault too then?”  
Catra shrugged. “Yeah, kinda.”

Adora spent the next few minutes silently stewing over the news. Back in Bright Moon, and even when she was a horde soldier, there was rarely time to dwell on her own failings. Now there was an excess of it. Hours of a day could be spent thinking over past mistakes without interruption.

She suspected that having so much time for introspection had made her more sensitive. Not in the way that leaving the Horde had done, which pushed her to greater understanding of her own emotions as well as the emotions of those around her. It was instead as if those feelings had simply become more fragile. 

She suspected that this newfound vulnerability bugged Catra as much as it did herself. She knew that Catra always had the tendency to bottle up her problems and she doubted that being around someone who had become so unreserved was pleasant. 

“Hey Adora. Adora?” Catra waved a hand in front of her face. “You good? C’mon, I’ll get Scorpia to cook you up something nice. Whatever you want,” she cheered, jumping to her feet and patting Adora’s rounded gut.

“Yeah, uh… you pick, I guess…” Adora replied listlessly.

Catra took one last lingering look at the captive princess, before the reinforced metal door placed itself between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might do some editing later.  
Could have finished it sooner if I didn't add the wrestling scene, but without it I felt like too much of the story consisted of people sitting on couches.


End file.
